U K Kumaran
U.K. Kumaran is a prominent writer and journalist who has won this year’s Vayalar Award.
He began his career as an Assistant Editor at Veekshanam Weekly and later joined Kerala Kaumudi. He has held several key positions, including Vice President of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists and Vice Chairman of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi.
Kumaran first gained attention in the literary world at the age of seventeen with the short story Chalanam (The Movement). During his college years, he published his first novel, Valayam (The Circle).
He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2011 for his novel Polisukaarante Penmakkal (The Policeman’s Daughters). His novel Thakshankunnile Swaroopam (The Shape of Thakshan Hill) earned him the Vayalar Award in 2016 and the Vaikom Chandrasekharan Nair Award in 2012.
Among other honors he has received are the S.K. Pottekkatt Award, SBI Literary Award, Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award, K.A. Kodungalloor Award, E.V.G. Award, Appan Thampuran Award, Thalappuram Sukumaran Award, J.C. Kuttikkad Award, Sahitya Samithi Award, and the Thoppil Ravi Award.
